European Medical School Oldenburg-Groningen: Antje Timmer new professor for "Epidemiology and Biometry"

Dr Antje Timmer has been appointed to the professorship of "Epidemiology and Biometry" at the School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Oldenburg. She previously worked at the Leibniz Institute for Epidemiology and Prevention Research (BIPS) in Bremen. Timmer is the second of a total of seven professorships in the Department of Health Services Research, which is currently being established. Prof. Dr Andreas Hein has been responsible for the area of "Medical Technology" there since May last year.

"Professor Timmer is a nationally and internationally recognised epidemiologist. She represents a field that is indispensable for research and teaching in the clinical area and in the entire healthcare system," emphasises Prof. Dr H.-Jürgen Appelrath, Vice Dean of the School of Medicine. Timmer is rooted in evidence-based medicine and is very experienced in both clinical-practical and well-founded methodological work. With regard to the further expansion of healthcare research, Appelrath emphasised: "Our goal is to fill two more professorships this year."

She is looking forward to the contact with the students at the European Medical School, said Timmer about her new task. "I would like to familiarise young people with epidemiology and biometrics, especially in their current importance for scientifically sound medical care."

Timmer studied medicine in Hanover. She then completed a Master's degree in Clinical Epidemiology in Calgary, Canada. In 1996, she completed her doctorate in Essen with a dissertation on chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. Timmer has worked in epidemiology in Essen, Freiburg, Munich and, since 2011, in Bremen. The internist and gastroenterologist completed her clinical training at Regensburg University Hospital. There, she completed her habilitation in 2006 on aspects of the quality of life of people with chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Since then, Timmer's research has focussed on the care of young chronically ill people and has also conducted several large survey studies with those affected and their carers.

Health services research is an interdisciplinary field of research. The scientists analyse the need for medical care, explain healthcare processes and the gains in health and quality of life. The aim of their research is to improve care concepts in an application-oriented manner, to develop and implement new concepts and to observe their effectiveness in everyday life.